Swinney thinks it's surreal to have Bear Bryant's great-grandson headed to Clemson |
CLEMSON –
Dabo Swinney knows all about the history of Alabama football, and how much legendary coach Bear Bryant is entwined in that history. That’s why he thinks it’s surreal to have Bryant’s great-grandson commit to the Tigers.
Paul Tyson, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, joins Clemson after appearances in 15 career games, including 14 at Alabama (2019-21) and one at Arizona State (2022), completing 10-of-16 career passes for 150 yards. The Tigers were in desperate need of another quarterback after DJ Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal after the ACC Championship. He was joined by former walk-on Billy Wiles, and veteran presence Hunter Johnson is done with football after spending his final season at the school as a grad transfer where he originally signed coming out of high school. That left new starter Cade Klubnik and former walk-on Hunter Helms as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Freshman Trent Pearman is a walk-on, and 2023 signee Christopher Vizzina will be here soon next semester. That still left a sizable experience gap in the quarterback room and Tyson, who entered the transfer portal after Arizona St.’s regular season finale, quickly let the Tigers know of his interest. He visited for one of the Tigers’ bowl practices last week and spent time with former quarterbacks Tajh Boyd and Cole Stoudt, spoke with quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter, then spent time with Swinney once practice ended. Swinney introduced Tyson to Klubnik and the two spoke briefly before Klubnik headed to the showers. “One of the most prolific passers in the history of the state of Alabama coming out of high school,” Swinney said. “With Billy Wiles leaving and obviously DJ leaving, we had a gap. So, we needed to get a veteran guy. Obviously we believe in Cade and who he is and what we think he’s going to do in our program, and we see CV (Vizzina) in that same light. So, young guys. … We really needed somebody else to come in and kind of give us a little more experience in the room. So, Paul fits that.” Tyson finished his career at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Ala., having thrown for more than 6,500 yards and 69 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions in his 24 games as a starter there. Tyson completed 68.2 of his passes to rank second all-time in completion percentage in ASHAA history at the 7A level. He also drew a lot of attention because of his great-grandfather. “It’s a surreal world that I’m even experiencing that. So, really kind of cool,” Swinney said. “Know his family obviously and really thankful — he had a lot of opportunity — and I’m thankful that he chose to come be a part and embrace the role that we have for him here.” Tyson didn’t record a pass at Arizona State last season but played in 12 games as Bryce Young’s backup at Alabama in 2021. Tyson redshirted as a true freshman in 2019, leaving him with two seasons of eligibility remaining, including a COVID year.
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